Medullary and C3--C4 propriospinal pathways underlying mammalian forelimb movement control.
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| Title: | Medullary and C3--C4 propriospinal pathways underlying mammalian forelimb movement control. |
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| Authors: | Jindal, Vishwas1, Grudny, Matteo M.1, Wesson, Daniel W.2, Vaillancourt, David E.1, Vahdat, Shahabeddin1,3 vahdat@ucr.edu |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2/3/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 5, p1-12. 37p. |
| Subjects: | Spinal cord, Fine motor ability, Motor ability, Motor cortex |
| Abstract: | Classic models associate goal-directed upper limb movements with cortical motor areas and balance control with the brainstem. However, recent rodent studies suggest that medullary regions and local spinal circuits also contribute to forelimb execution, leaving it uncertain if these findings apply to humans. Critically, the dynamic interactions among medullary motor regions, intersegmental spinal networks, and cortical sensorimotor areas during hand movement control remain poorly understood. Here, through functional MRI (fMRI) studies in humans and mice during forelimb movement tasks, we reveal topographically organized corticomedullary networks, comprising the lateral rostral medulla (Lat-RM) and caudal medulla (CauM), that regulate forelimb movement. In mice, the corticomedullary coupling in both CauM and Lat-RM increased systematically along a ventro-medio-dorsal gradient, with the strongest links to primary motor and premotor cortices. In humans, higher-order sensorimotor regions drove the strongest connectivity with CauM and Lat-RM, while the more medially located medial rostral medulla remained weakly engaged. Furthermore, simultaneous brain-spinal fMRI revealed distinct functional territories within the human C3-C4 cervical spinal cord, with ventral regions exhibiting strong connectivity to the medulla and dorsal regions to lower cervical segments. Together, our findings identify a conserved corticomedullary network underlying forelimb movement control across species, while also uncovering variation in cortical involvement. They indicate the presence of an indirect pathway involving both the reticulospinal pathway and the C3-C4 propriospinal system, which contributes to fine hand motor control in the mammalian brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 191600111 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Medullary and C3--C4 propriospinal pathways underlying mammalian forelimb movement control. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jindal%2C+Vishwas%22">Jindal, Vishwas</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Grudny%2C+Matteo+M%2E%22">Grudny, Matteo M.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wesson%2C+Daniel+W%2E%22">Wesson, Daniel W.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vaillancourt%2C+David+E%2E%22">Vaillancourt, David E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vahdat%2C+Shahabeddin%22">Vahdat, Shahabeddin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,3</relatesTo><i> vahdat@ucr.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 2/3/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 5, p1-12. 37p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spinal+cord%22">Spinal cord</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fine+motor+ability%22">Fine motor ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motor+ability%22">Motor ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Motor+cortex%22">Motor cortex</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Classic models associate goal-directed upper limb movements with cortical motor areas and balance control with the brainstem. However, recent rodent studies suggest that medullary regions and local spinal circuits also contribute to forelimb execution, leaving it uncertain if these findings apply to humans. Critically, the dynamic interactions among medullary motor regions, intersegmental spinal networks, and cortical sensorimotor areas during hand movement control remain poorly understood. Here, through functional MRI (fMRI) studies in humans and mice during forelimb movement tasks, we reveal topographically organized corticomedullary networks, comprising the lateral rostral medulla (Lat-RM) and caudal medulla (CauM), that regulate forelimb movement. In mice, the corticomedullary coupling in both CauM and Lat-RM increased systematically along a ventro-medio-dorsal gradient, with the strongest links to primary motor and premotor cortices. In humans, higher-order sensorimotor regions drove the strongest connectivity with CauM and Lat-RM, while the more medially located medial rostral medulla remained weakly engaged. Furthermore, simultaneous brain-spinal fMRI revealed distinct functional territories within the human C3-C4 cervical spinal cord, with ventral regions exhibiting strong connectivity to the medulla and dorsal regions to lower cervical segments. Together, our findings identify a conserved corticomedullary network underlying forelimb movement control across species, while also uncovering variation in cortical involvement. They indicate the presence of an indirect pathway involving both the reticulospinal pathway and the C3-C4 propriospinal system, which contributes to fine hand motor control in the mammalian brain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1073/pnas.2518217123 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 37 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Spinal cord Type: general – SubjectFull: Fine motor ability Type: general – SubjectFull: Motor ability Type: general – SubjectFull: Motor cortex Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Medullary and C3--C4 propriospinal pathways underlying mammalian forelimb movement control. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Jindal, Vishwas – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Grudny, Matteo M. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wesson, Daniel W. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Vaillancourt, David E. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Vahdat, Shahabeddin IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 03 M: 02 Text: 2/3/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00278424 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 123 – Type: issue Value: 5 Titles: – TitleFull: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Type: main |
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